


Poor Pathetic Thomas! (Discontinued)

by Orzitea



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But also, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Fluffy, Jamilton - Freeform, M/M, This is my life now, Writing fanfiction for the founding fathers that is, at least I think so, im new at this, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orzitea/pseuds/Orzitea
Summary: But it was that combination of enraging qualities that made Thomas fight him back just as fiercely, cut just as deep verbally, and overall feel something very akin to hate for Alexander Hamilton.And Thomas had no need to question that hate, wonder if it was truly set in stone like it seemed to be. No reason to examine any thought, word, or action of either party any closer than a casual glance. No cause to do anything other than roll his eyes and scoff every time Lafayette made a comment about “Diffusing sexual tension.”Until the fateful day when Washington assigned them a case together.





	1. The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

It was well-known that Thomas Jefferson hated Alexander Hamilton. In fact, the never ending feud between them had somewhat turned into an office joke.

“There goes Hamilton ripping Jefferson to shreds again.” A co-worker would say.

“Do you hear that?” Another would tease, “It's the sound of Jefferson dismantling Hamilton’s entire argument.”

And if anyone asked, Thomas would claim it as nothing but the truth. And that's what he told himself too. Working as a defense lawyer in the highly publicized Law Office of George Washington, Attorneys at Law, Thomas had matters concerning the truth every day, and that's definitely what his hatred of Alexander could be classified as.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help him God.

 

It wasn't as if his love of loathing Hamilton came out of nowhere either. Half of the office held something or other against the man...The other half seemed deeply devoted to him but that was irrelevant as far as Thomas was concerned. 

Oh yes, Thomas was given lots of ammunition to work with. You could start off with the fact that he always managed to get to work earlier than anyone else. Thomas had been so sick of it, arriving punctual as always only to find Hamilton already plugging away in his office. One day he purposely woke up at 4:00 a.m., haphazardly got dressed, blearily made breakfast, and regretting his decision with every step, got to work at 4:30 a.m. that day.  Imagine his shock when, creeping up next to Hamilton’s office door, he heard the man furiously typing up a storm on his laptop.

Too tired to be either angry or surprised, (did anything Hamilton do surprise him anymore?), Thomas had walked into his own office, locked the door, and slept until 8:30.

There were other things too of course. The way he drank four cups of coffee in the morning when working on a particularly difficult case? Frankly annoying.

The way he always seemed to have Washington’s ear in every important matter? Extremely frustrating.

Every single time Thomas went to open his mouth to suggest or comment his opinion and within seconds, was shot down by Mister Alexander Hamilton? Simply infuriating.

 

On most occasions though, it was just Hamilton himself.

The short stature which made you underestimate a man who could cut through you like a knife with only his words.

The dark bags, unkempt hair, and gaunt cheeks that informed you he wasn't taking care of himself-and goddammit, wasn't that what Hamilton’s friends were for?

The compelling way he could captivate a room with his speeches, leaving you hanging on his every word with the urge to get down on your knees and beg for more.

This of course, had no effect on Thomas.

But it was that combination of enraging qualities that made Thomas fight him back just as fiercely, cut just as deep verbally, and overall feel something very akin to hate for Alexander Hamilton.

And Thomas had no need to question that hate, wonder if it was truly set in stone like it seemed to be. No reason to examine any thought, word, or action of either party any closer than a casual glance. No cause to do anything other than roll his eyes and scoff every time Lafayette made a comment about “Diffusing sexual tension.”

  
Until the fateful day when Washington assigned them a case together.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI y'all,
> 
> So this is my first Hamilton fanfiction and I don't have a beta (feel free to volunteer-  
> wow so everything I wrote here got cut off for some reason  
> ill summarize  
> -new to this send help  
> -crying over founding fathers  
> -slut for validation  
> 


	2. Important work, see?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know whenever I imagine killing you, you always beg for mercy.”  
> “What a kinky son of a bitch.”  
> “If I get arrested for murdering you, maybe Laf will take my case.”  
> “The case against you, maybe. As one of my best friends, Gilbert will make sure my murderer is behind bars.”

“Sir, honestly! You cannot expect me to work with Jefferson of all people.” Hamilton was saying as Thomas loitered outside Washington’s office.  
He could almost imagine the stern look Washington would be giving Hamilton as he levelly said, “I expect that and much more.”

Before he could continue, Thomas walked inside, his usual smirk already settled into place.  
“Thomas, please have a seat.” Thomas sat. Washington let out a sigh, “You too, Alexander.” Grumbling underneath his breath, Hamilton obeyed.

“Now I want you both to act like mature adults regarding this.” He paused a moment as if waiting for them to agree; they said nothing. “Thomas will be on your team for counsel only. Normally, I wouldn't do this. You're a good lawyer Hamilton, we both know that, but ever since your last case…”

Washington didn't need to elaborate. Hamilton knew what he was talking about. Thomas knew what he was talking about. Hell everyone in the office would know what he was talking about.

On Hamilton’s last case, barely two months ago, the unthinkable had happened. Hamilton had failed. A lesser lawyer could have won it too, but he had slipped up on his words. Asked a question whose answer pointed suspicion directly at his client and-well Thomas wasn’t going to go into it.  
Hamilton had already beaten himself up enough about it. It had given Thomas more material to mock the man over sure, but for some reason, he had held back. Maybe it was because of that one night, one of the times Thomas had been working late. He didn’t know for sure, more like guessed based on experience, that Hamilton would also be working late and since Thomas needed some papers signed, preferably as soon as possible, he walked over to Hamilton’s office.

The door was slightly ajar and because of that he had been greeted with the sight of Alexander Hamilton looking even worse than usual. Several empty and crumpled coffee cups were strewn across his desk and-was that a flask lying on its side? His hands were in his hair, elbows were on his desk, and he seemed to be muttering incoherently. Except when Thomas took a step closer, certain words were able to be made out. Let’s just say they were directed at Hamilton himself and sounded an awful lot like self-loathing.  
When Hamilton started questioning the different things he could have done better Thomas decided to leave. After all, he could always get the papers signed tomorrow.

Luckily-well unfortunately in Thomas’s case-Hamilton was pretty much back to his old self. And Thomas definitely didn’t feel any gratitude for that as his enemy sat beside him, eyes blazing and mouth practically foaming, going on and on about how Thomas Jefferson could most definitely “Not counsel anyone on any affairs other than where to store common sense and good judgment when not in use.”  
One look at Washington though, and Thomas could tell he wasn’t going to budge. So instead of going over every reason on his list as to why he shouldn’t be paired to counsel Hamilton of all people, he sat in silence, fingers thrumming against the arms of his chair, and waited for the meeting to be over so he could get back to work.

There was one moment when Hamilton stopped for a breath of air and faltered, waited actually as if allowing Jefferson ample time to jump in, maybe even for the first time agree with each other, that they shouldn’t be forced to work together. But he said nothing, and after an awkward pause, Hamilton continued.  
This went on for a little while until Washington seemed to have enough, holding up a hand and effectively silencing Hamilton. Idly, Thomas wondered if one day he’d be able to do that. Not likely.

“Thomas, do you have any objections?” Washington asked, surprising him. “No sir, whatever you decide is fine by me.” And seeing the look on Hamilton’s face was almost worth agreeing to let Washington decide. _Almost being the key word_ , Thomas thought as the angry little man cornered him outside their boss’ office.  
“What the hell was that, Jefferson?”  
Thomas looked down at him. Literally.  
“Whatever do you mean, Hamilton?”

  
He growled. “I mean you not telling Washington to let us work by ourselves. The moment we’re in a room together and not arguing is the moment hell freezes over. What’s your angle, hm? What are you trying to do?”  
Thomas looked at him, unimpressed. “If you excuse me, I have work to do. We’ll talk later, once we get the details of the case.”

“Kissing ass? Is that it?” Hamilton called out as Thomas just walked off, deciding it wasn’t worth the time. “I should have known that you would jump at the opportunity to make me look like the-” Thomas hoped Hamilton had heard his office door shut. Maybe he would just continue standing there in the hallway, ranting towards an empty door. Whatever the case, it wasn’t going to bother him; he had work to do.

“You could have just come to my office, Thomas. It’s five steps away, right next door. Would have taken less than a minute.”  
Thomas huffed at James Madison slightly annoyed tone. “That would entail getting out of my office, James. And Hamilton could still be out there.” He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on his desk, and cradling the phone to his ear. Important work, see?

“Scared of the big-er small, bad wolf?”  
“You can’t see me because I’m not in your office, but I’m flipping you off.”  
James laughed, “Why’d you call, Thomas?”  
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard by now. Washington’s assigned me a case with Hamilton. Well not really _with_ him per say, I’m not working it. But I’m there to counsel him since his last case didn’t go as plan.”  
“You know gossip about you and Alexander aren’t the only things this office talks about.” Was the first thing James said in reply to the news.  
“Really? That’s what you’re stuck on?” Was what Thomas wanted to say. Before he could though, James was telling him to hold on he had another call on the line.

Thomas waited about three minutes before his patience ran out and he walked over to his door. Nobody was in the hall which means that nobody saw him peek his head out and make sure Hamilton wasn’t waiting to jump out and attack him.  
Just as he entered James’ office, the man hung up the phone and looked up at him. “I take that back. The office has nothing better to talk about. That was Lafayette telling me all the juicy details about you being paired with Hamilton.”  
“Straight from the little devil himself, I’m sure.”  
James chuckled. “I’d curb that kind of talk for now,Thomas. Won’t you be spending a lot of time with your new partner? You wouldn’t want to say something that upsets him and then suddenly he’s yelling nonstop and insulting everything about you-”  
“A regular Thursday afternoon then?”  
“Today’s Thursday.”  
“Noted.”

“Thomas you can’t survive five minutes without trying to strangle Alexander. How are you going to work on a who-knows-how-long-case with him?”  
“The same way I approach everything in life.” He straightened his tie and winked at his best friend. “With talent and dedication.”

_

At 11:30 p.m., most of the other workers had gone home, save a few stragglers. That including Thomas and Hamilton, of course.

Thomas had been trying to summon the courage all day to approach Hamilton so they could figure out some sort of gameplan. The required amount had finally arrived at the end of the day when all he wanted was to slip into his silk pajamas and go to bed. He was ready to murder anyone who got in his way and considering he was almost always ready to murder Hamilton regardless...Well, let’s just hope he wouldn’t get in Thomas’ way.

Opening the office door without knocking-One of Hamilton’s pet peeves, Thomas had learned over the years-, He discovered Hamilton sitting at his desk, mulling over some papers while John Laurens sat on the desk. The second man seemed to be trying to throw the crumpled up paper balls beside Hamilton into the metal trashcan in the corner.

John Laurens: Human Resources Representative.  
Not similar enough to Hamilton for Thomas to hate him.  
Close enough friends with Hamilton that allowed a general disdain.  
Didn’t particularly like Thomas.

They both turned to look at Thomas as he entered the office, not bothering to shut the door behind him. It’s not like there was anyone here anyways.

“What do you want, Jefferson?” Hamilton asked, returning to his papers.  
“Friendly as ever, Hamilton. I’m here so we can go over the facts of the case. Washington gave them to me before he left.” He waved the thin file in his hand. "Tomorrow we’re meeting with our new client so we need to be prepared and brushed up on the details.” Thomas looked towards John.

  
Years before when he had first started trying to get into this exhausting practice, an old veteran attorney had advised Thomas on something. Said it was his number one rule.  
_Don’t share information with people who don’t need it._  
“This is going to start branching into client confidentiality so…” The invite to leave was left unspoken but John got the hint with a tired smile. “Have a good night, Thomas. You too, Hamilton.” And began gathering up his jacket and briefcase.

Hamilton had other plans, however. He held up a hand, mirroring the way Washington had done so to him today, Thomas noticed, and said, “Don’t bother, John. Thomas you can just leave the papers on my desk. Text me the details of when _I’ll_ be meeting _my_ client. Don’t worry, I won’t be late, and I’ll tell you all about it at some later, unspecified time.”  
John paused, unsure what to do.

Thomas sighed. “Why do I already feel a headache coming on?” He muttered to himself. Normally, he’d give up, because on occasions like these, when his brain and body were begging him to shut down, Hamilton wasn’t worth the fight.  
But then Hamilton opened his mouth again. “I can’t hear the crap you’re spewing if you mumble, Jefferson.”  
_This incessant, little, prick._ Talking like he owned the goddamned place. Like he was the boss. If anyone needed to be put in his place at any moment in time it was Alexander Hamilton, right here, right now.

“Hamilton, cut the shit.” Thomas’ voice was quiet, and that definitely should have warned Hamilton to something because usually, Thomas was all loud and in your face. But Hamilton, being Hamilton, didn’t notice.  
“What?”  
“I said, _cut the shit, Hamilton_.” He repeated, his voice sharp as a razor. The man opened his mouth to respond, but never got a chance because for once Thomas Jefferson was going to be like Alexander Hamilton and not stop.

“Cut the motherfucking shit. Just because you’re the boss’ bitch doesn’t mean you are the boss. Now I tried to come in here and act civil enough to get this done, but bless your heart you are just too damn thick to notice. You screwed up and that is the reason Washington put me on this case to counsel you, so take a few seconds and get over it. You messed up, it’s over now. Live with the repercussions and for once in your life take your head out of your ass so that we can win this case, save this young woman’s life, and get back to glaring at each other through our office walls. Understand?”

Hamilton was speechless, and Thomas savored the look on his enemy’s face. He felt powerful, he felt strong, he had just destroyed Hamilton and the man was too stunned to even respond. And then Thomas saw something other than shock and for a second he felt guilty.  
He let out another sigh. “Laurens, please leave. I’ll take care of this.” John did so, glaring at Thomas as he left but not with a small amount of awe mixed in.

“Call me when you leave, Alexander.” He said, exiting the office and closing the door behind him. That left only Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, office enemies, alone in a room together, for once not saying anything.

“I do live with it.” Hamilton spoke first, breaking the silence.  
“Excuse me?”  
“I do live with the repercussions. I-I live with it every day. And you know what? So does the man I’m sure was innocent who's now behind bars, and guess who really has reason to complain about repercussions? He does.”  
“Hamilton, listen-”  
“I don’t want your pity, Jefferson. And I don’t want your advice either. I-I want-”  
“You want to change something that can’t be changed. I’m sorry if it hurts but it’s the truth. You won’t be able to fix anything for that man right now. What you can do, is guarantee that on your watch an innocent person never has to pay an undeserved consequence again. Got it?”  
He nodded hesitantly, and then once more, increasingly sure of himself. “Let’s go over the case details then.”

Thomas had never seen Hamilton unsure of himself before. It was new and...surprising. Unfortunately, the man caught Thomas trying to study his face as he looked down upon the papers. A familiar scowl set in place as Hamilton remarked, “I said I didn’t want your pity, asshole.”  
The glare was almost a reassuring feeling.  
“Next time, try not to be so pathetic and then maybe we can both be happy.”  
“You know whenever I imagine killing you, you always beg for mercy.”  
“What a kinky son of a bitch.”  
“If I get arrested for murdering you, maybe Laf will take my case.”  
“The case _against_ you, maybe. As one of my best friends, Gilbert will make sure my murderer is behind bars.”  
“No one can be best friends with someone who calls him Gilbert.”  
“That’s his name.”  
“For strangers and enemies. Which group do you fit into?”  
“I don’t think you’ll be able to murder me in time. I think by the end of this week, working with you, I’m going to kill myself.”  
“I love how you didn’t even question your murder. Finally becoming aware that you have a waiting line of people who want to stab you?”  
“Popular people have enemies, Hamilton. Not that you would know.”

Hamilton growled and Thomas threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Back to the case. From now on we focus only on the case.”  
“On the case.” Hamilton repeated.  
“Though, just so you know, I’m going to count that last conversation as a win for me.”  
“Oh for the love of-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Y'all! Boom update,  
> okay so,  
> as previously mentioned, i'm new to this so I don't know what's an appropriate length for these chapters  
> if y'all think they should be shorter or longer please feel free to tell me  
> as always constructive criticism is appreciated as is comments  
> tell me if y'all like it  
> im using y'all too much  
> okay goodbye y'all  
> p.s. is the format, the way the chapter looks okay? im trying to navigate how to display it and i have n o idea


	3. Two Hands On The Wheel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> However, a thought popped in his head, accompanied unwelcomely with flashes of Hamilton after his failed case.  
> Thomas realized dimly that maybe the immigrant was trying as best he could to not fuck up any part of his case. He didn't want to let down his client again, and that probably meant agonizing over every detail, and making sure not a single thing escaped his grasp. Was Thomas make it harder for him?  
> The startling thought knocked him back into reality.

Today they were meeting with their new client and already a miracle had occurred. Thomas had driven with Hamilton from the office _together, i _n the same car,__ to the Wallkill Correctional Facility, and he hadn’t felt like strangling him where he sat.  It helped he had to keep two hands on the wheel.

    Luckily for him, Hamilton only talked about the details of the case.

Their client’s name: Maria Reynolds

    Arrested for: The murder of her husband, James Reynolds

    Details of the case: Maria Reynolds had allegedly been in an abusive relationship for several years. Four weeks ago on January 21st, Maria Reynolds obtained possession of a pistol located inside the household. As her husband stepped through the door to come home from work, she shot him two times. According to her statement, he still stumbled towards her. She then shot him two more times. The police were called immediately afterwards by their client who confessed to the crime. When the police arrived on scene, James Reynolds was dead. Maria Reynolds was found sobbing over the body, and was arrested without struggle.

Hamilton had been rambling as Thomas drove into the parking lot of the state prison, going on about how their obvious angle was the abuse and it would be great if Maria still had physical signs of it and-Thomas winced.

If this was how Hamilton handled the client, they were going to get fired before the trial.

“Hamilton,” Thomas started, cutting the man off. “Do you believe we can win?”

Hamilton paused for a moment, thinking. “Depends on what you think constitutes a win. There's very little chance she's going to get off scot free. We might be looking at a decade for jail time, but even that is better than some other cases I've heard where-”

“I think it's better if we don't get into it, right now.” Thomas advised him. “We don’t want to keep our client waiting.”

Technically they were still seven minutes early but whatever.

Thomas tried to settle his nerves and they headed towards the entrance of the facility, client details and a note Not that he’d tell anyone this but receiving a case never failed to make him anxious. You would think that after five years in the business, you might get used to being handed a file along with the future of someone in your manicured hands, but you never did. Well, at least he didn’t.

Hamilton seemed perfectly casual as he strolled along, hands in his suit pockets, even whistling a mindless tune. At least he had the decency to stop when they entered the jail.

 

One inside, Bar ID’s were presented, the two men and their items went through security, and fifteen minutes later they were on their way to talk to Maria Reynolds.

Walking into the room where they would be able to talk with their client, Thomas’ brain went into lawyer mode. He didn't want to sound as crass as Hamilton had outside the facility when talking about the case, didn't want to reduce every single aspect about Maria into whether or not it would help the case.

That being said, sometimes he just couldn't help it. He would think and say what he had to if it would win the case.

For instance, Maria was a very attractive young woman. Light brown skin, large doe-looking eyes, thick and wavy dark hair that fell past her shoulders. Regardless of it being fair, her attractiveness would help in court.

He did notice however the circles underneath her eyes, dark enough to rival Hamilton’s, and she looked like she had been crying recently. Understandable in her case.

“Hello, Mrs. Reynolds, nice to meet you. I'm your lawyer, Alexander Hamilton.” Thomas set his papers down and offered his hand to to her as Hamilton introduced him. “And this is my associate, Thomas Jefferson.”

After shaking her hand the two men sat down on the provided chair.

“Please just call me Maria.” She asked of them, her voice shaky. Thomas saw Hamilton send a reassuring smile. “Of course, Maria.” He clasped his hands together, “Why don’t we just jump right into it, shall we? If you don't mind I think we should start off with some questions.”

Maria tried but failed to return his smile

“S-Sure.”

From the pile of paperwork stacked onto the table, Thomas pulled out a thin and nearly empty file case, spreading it out cleanly between him and Hamilton. He reached over and clicked his pen coaligned with his notepad. Thomas looked up, making sure his expression showed no signs of anything but a professional lawyer at work

“Let’s start off easy,” He began, “How long have you lived here in New York?”

Maria looked up, clearly not expecting the suspicious vagueness of her first question.

“I've...I’ve lived here all of my life, sir,” she breathed, “24 years.”

Thomas scribbled down some quick notes onto the pad as Hamilton asked the next question. “How long were you and James Reynolds in a relationship?”

She took a deep breath. “Well, I-I first met him in ninth grade.” Thomas and Hamilton quickly exchanged a shocked look. Maria took no notice. “He was older than me by five o-or six years but he was so nice. He brought my family dinner every Saturday and uh-At the beginning of sophomore year that’s when I started dating him.”

Hamilton straightened his back and cleared his throat. Jefferson hoped the other man would tread lightly with his questions.

“Why did you first start dating him?”

“My uh-my parents approved of him. He brought such lavish gifts and like I said he was so-so nice. His age didn't seem to matter and well, my family was..not well-off. My father couldn't even write his own name.  This-This was-” She fumbled for the right word. “An opportunity. An opportunity for us to have something more.”

“What happened when you first started dating him?”

Maria’s eyes seemed to glaze a little, as if thinking of better times.

“He would bring me flowers and take me out for dinner. He warned me not to tell any of my friends about him so I didn't. I-I even began spending time with him at his apartment.”

A moment or two passed.

“There was one night where he asked me to stay over and well-He only had one bed. I refused, it seemed he was expecting something that I wasn’t ready to g-give. I told him no.”

Hamilton’s face visibly darkened. Thomas wasn’t religious but he prayed that her story wasn't going in the direction it sounded like.

“Maria, this will be very important to know. That night, did James Reynolds try to...have his way with you?”

 _Not the best way to phrase it_ , Thomas thought, but Hamilton was right. This would be important.

She took a deep breath. “No.” Thomas quietly let out a sigh of relief, though he had a bad feeling that the worse was far from over.

Hamilton regained his composure. “What happened after you refused?”

Her gaze drifted into her lap. “He-he let me leave. I went back home the same way I always did. But-uh-after that, things changed. James stopped coming over to my house, stopped bringing dinner. I heard less and less from him and then one day there was nothing, and he was gone. My parents weren’t happy about it, they thought I had pushed him away.”

Suddenly she was staring at them again with a piercing look. “He was gone and I-I was relieved. And then, almost a year later, he was back. He acted like nothing had changed, like he hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth. I was back in the same situation. Except this time, this time my mama told me. She said I should do everything to hold on to a man like that.”

“We can take a break Maria. Anytime you feel like stopping just say the word.”

“No-No, I just-” She was taking little gasps, sounding out of breath. Soon she regained control. “I need to finish this. The next year, my junior year, I was at his apartment again and he asked me the same question. He asked if I wanted to sleep over and-”

The woman looked on the verge of collapse, Thomas knew they would have to stop and soon.

“-and this time, I said yes.” Silence followed her words.

Hamilton spoke up first, though how he was able to find words Thomas would never understand. “Thank you Maria, for telling us your story. I understand how hard it must be to recall these events. Trust me when I say every bit of information counts.”

She nodded weakly. “I do, I do trust you.”

Thomas paused from his writing, hoping he wasn’t pushing her too far. “Do you feel up to answering any more questions right now?”

Maria tried to put on a brave face. “Just a couple more, please.”

“Of course, I’ll try to make this as short as possible. How old when you when you two got married?”

Maria paused for a moment, then continued. “I was 20 years old.” They waited but she offered no further information. He’d have to press for it.

“Why do you think you got married so young?”

Maria looked taken aback at the question, but also resolved to answer. “Well I-uh, I didn't have the money for college but he-he convinced me that if we got married he would be able to take care of me. He had a steady job, and the apartment of course. I-I wanted the stability he offered. And the um, um…” She paused, avoiding their gaze. Thomas noticed tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.

“Maria, if you are not able to continue right now, that is completely fine-”

“It’s okay, I can tell you.” With no effort to wipe away the growing tears, she turned back to them. “The baby. I-I was pregnant.”

Thomas began furiously writing.

Hamilton looked ashamed to push her anymore, but if it was for her own sake…

“What happened to the baby, Mrs. Reynolds?”

“It-It was a miscarriage. Sh-She was going to be a little girl. A little girl named Rose.” The accumulated teardrops finally fell and began streaking down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, I want to answer your questions-”

“That is perfectly okay. Mrs. Reynolds. Take all the time you need.”

They waited in silence as she tried to wipe away the signs of crying. “Okay, I'm ready to go on.” Hamilton hesitated just a moment before making a decision.  

“You've given us quite enough for now. We’ll be back to visit you soon, and if you’re feeling up to it you can answer more questions then.”

Maria nodded weakly, suddenly looking exhausted.

“You’ve been extremely helpful, Maria. Thank you.” Thomas said.

“I should be thanking you for taking my case” She pointed out, but Hamilton waved her statement away, “We’re going to do everything in our power to help you, Maria. We’ll set up another meeting sometime next week. Pick up where we left off.”

Maria nodded with a small, cautious smile of appreciation.

 

The process to exit the facility holding Mrs. Reynolds was much less extensive than getting in. When first walking in they had argued with each other. About what tactics to use to acquire the most information, or what to do if it appeared she was hiding something. It was almost like the two were trying to calm each other's nerves. Now, they had solemn truth, the way out seeming much longer this time. The air around them was silent and uncomfortable, they were both unsure of what to say, or if either of them should even try to make things lighter. At one point during the body scan, Thomas looked to his side, surprised to see Alexander much paler than usual, looking down at his hands with tight lips.

After a few more security checks, Jefferson and Hamilton were walking out into the parking lot, still silent. Thomas unlocked his car with a click, and both men slammed their doors shut once inside.

It was only until then that the real gravity of their situation sank heavy on their shoulders. Being defendants in this case was much harder than the two could ever imagine. He looked over to the other man slumped over, and a sliver of unfamiliar concern creeped its way up Thomas.

“Hamilton, are you feeling okay?” said Thomas in an awkward hush.

“I…” Hamilton sank deeper into his seat, “It’s a lot of information to take in, is all.” The bags under his eyes seemed significantly more prominent than usual. How long had they been in that interrogation room? An hour tops?

The Virginian shook his head and tried not to dwell on each other's mental states right now. They were both grown men for god's sake and he for one, had certainly handled cases more trying than this. At least, he thought he had.

Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out his phone and with few taps, Google Maps was opened.

“Give me your address.”

Hamilton blinked, “Huh?”

Jefferson gave a long sigh. “I’m dropping you off at your place, what else, asshole?” Even Thomas’s insults lacked their usual aggressiveness. This case was definitely doing a number on the pair.

“You’re joking right?” Hamilton’s mouth stooped into a growl

Thomas rolled his eyes and soon, the familiar bite of their banters re-emerged. “We have what we need for now, let’s just sleep on it and decide on what we’ll do next. Besides, I think I can speak for both of us when I say I really need a break from yo-”

“That doesn't matter!” yelled Hamilton defensively. “Look, Jefferson. I don't give an everloving shit if you feel tired. We need to coordinate a better plan on what to do next on this case, especially while it's still fresh in our minds. If we wait a day longer, we might miss ideas, we could start backtracking, or-”

“Hamilton-”

“Besides,” The man continued, “It's obvious that we’ll never get a full rundown of her point of view anytime soon! We need to start talking _now_ so we can figure out what kind of witnesses to find-”

The rest of his ramblings faded out of sound for Thomas. As nïave as it seemed, Thomas wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment, take a 12-hour nap on his bed, and try to forget that he was working on a case with the most insolent man in the world.

However, a thought popped in his head, accompanied unwelcomely with flashes of Hamilton after his failed case. Thomas realized dimly that maybe the immigrant was trying as best he could to not fuck up any part of his case. He didn't want to let down his client again, and that probably meant agonizing over every detail, and making sure not a single thing escaped his grasp. Was Thomas make it harder for him?

The startling thought knocked him back into reality.

“Are you even _listening_ to me?”

Thomas let out a sharp breath of air and gripped the steering wheel, trying to rear his frustration in. “ _Fine_. If you don't want either of us to go home, what do you suggest then?” spoke Thomas through gritted teeth. Hamilton’s attitude then changed like a lightswitch, taking his victory over Thomas with pride.

If anything that made Thomas more annoyed. “You know what?” He interrupted as Hamilton opened his mouth, presumably to suggest a place. “I actually know a place.”

The man’s expression darkened and Thomas almost let out a laugh. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

“I doubt I'll like any place that you enjoy.” Hamilton pouted, quite like a little kid.

The stress from earlier seemed to be slowly trickling out of the open car window. “If you expect me to willingly spend my lunch hour with you, then at the _very_ least it will be at a place of my choosing.”

“Fine.” grumbled Hamilton, and this time it was Thomas’ turn to smile triumphantly.

Maybe he could push his luck.

“And stop pouting like a five year old. I have high standards and this place manages to meet them.”

“How do they withstand such an honor, being visited by the great Thomas Jefferson?” Hamilton muttered under his breath, effectively turning from tantrum toddler to petulant teenager. “Just know,” He added afterwards, “That if their coffee sucks then we are never going there again.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the fact that his mind immediately began dissecting Hamilton’s statement. _We are never going there again._ Did that imply...more lunch outings?

Focusing on the world, he bit back a sarcastic retort that would have led the conversation further into argument hell.

“Trust me,” He said, his voice almost reassuring, “There’s no place like the Schuylers’ Cafe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO,  
> It's been so long I'm sorry I'm horrible and this is only the third chapter  
> But next chapter is already partially written and we get to meet some of our ~favorite~ characters 
> 
> S o, I had the absolute dEAREST help from @globzrt who may say she's my beta but in actuality helped way more with the complete writing of this chapter so b l e s s x100
> 
> Btdubbs, Maria never had a kid named Rose so as u can tell this isn't following history at a l l, but that's to be expected


	4. <3

Hey guys! This is one of the co-authors of Poor Pathetic Thomas and we just wanted to let readers know if it wasn't obvious enough that there wont be any new chapters on this fic or on any other Hamilton fic. I know it's nearly been a year but I just wanted to give a little closure.

Thanks to this fic, the OG author and I are close internet friends, and has also led the OG to make some BMC fics which you can check out (they made me cry ngl)

Sorry for the bad news, but not finishing this fic without this disclaimer is lowkey haunting us. Thank you for reading 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


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